Heroes Don't Always Wear Capes

Upstairs, with the door closed, a set of markers and a pad of paper. That is where my eleven-year old daughter goes to find privacy. Privacy from her five-year old brother who can adore and infuriate her, all within a span of thirty seconds. Her privacy is always short-lived though, because he will search the entire house until he finds her.

You see, she is his hero and she doesn’t even know it.

He watches her every move. He imitates her. Sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. She is the one that comes to his rescue when Mommy and Daddy need a break. She is his “sidekick” when he goes to fight the “bad guys”. Or, maybe he is hers. I haven’t quite figured that one out yet. Either way, they are a formidable duo when properly motivated.

But sometimes, when she loses her temper. When she gets angry at him. When she is human. I tell her to remember that “she is his mirror”. Whatever he sees in her will be reflected back to him, and he will do the same. He looks up to her whether she likes it or not. It is a lot for an eleven year old to fully digest, but I think she gets it.

And then I think, do I always get it?

Do we?

Those of us that are leaders in our classroom, our school, or our district. Do we realize that each and every decision we make is being carefully observed by those that we lead? Do we realize that the way that we react to stress, to problems, to life, is being reflected and imitated? How do we want that to look?

I believe that we must be the type of leaders that show people that we are not perfect, because then they will see it is okay for them to make mistakes. We must be the type of leaders that show others that solutions are not found right away, because then they won’t be so hard on themselves when they’re stuck. We must be the type of leaders that show that treating people well always comes first, because then they will attempt to do the same.

Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.

Albert Schweitzer

I can tell you at the end of the day, when my son goes to fight the “bad guys” he doesn’t take his superman action figure and he doesn’t take his pretend light saber. He takes his imperfect, sometimes cranky, eleven-year old sister.

And you know what? That is just fine.

And you know what else? They always win!

They win because they have each other. They win because they help each other to be a little bit better than they were yesterday.

My son has already learned an important life lesson.

He has learned that heroes may not always wear capes …

but they always hold hands.

*We must begin to share our mistakes with the people we love and the people we serve so that they stop feeling as if they have to be perfect. To listen to educators who have already shared, simply click the link below. And if you don't have time to listen to an episode today, maybe you will have 5-10 minutes later on this week.

Jon is currently the assistant principal in Dorchester County, Maryland. This is his seventh year serving as an assistant principal at the elementary level. Prior to becoming an administrator he served as a Math Coach and an elementary school teacher. During his ten years as a classroom teacher he taught first, second, fourth and fifth grades. During his sixth year teaching he earned Nationally Board Certification, which he held for ten years. For seven years he ran a Young Gentleman's Club that was aimed at helping young men reach their full potential.

Jon received a B.A. from Furman University while majoring in Philosophy. He later went on to earn his B.S from Salisbury University while majoring in Elementary Education. Jon was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to student teach in New Zealand. He eventually received his M.A. degree from Salisbury University in Public School Administration.

Jon lives in Cambridge, Maryland with his amazing wife and two awesome children.

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